For the majority of this book Todd Henry, the author, focus on five key areas that creatives can focus on to bring some structure to their creative process. This blog post will go into detail on the first three areas he discusses.

1. Focus - he says that the best way to focus your energy is to be a “Developer” or someone who can see the big picture, break it down into manageable parts, but can also veer off course every once in a while if needed. This allows for some flexibility while keeping in tune with the major objectives. He suggests a few different technique for focus:

Be clear about the project objectives from the beginning.

Focus on the “Big 3” or the three biggest creative areas that you want insights on

“Cluster” work that are similar in nature so that your mind can focus on grouping activities

2. Relationships - Henry says “Investing in healthy, thriving relationships yields long-term benefits for everyone...” He says there are three ways to cultivate creatively stimulating relationships and that is: “to have relationships in which you can be real, relationships where you can learn to risk, and relationships where you can submit to the wisdom of others.” He lays out three strategies to enrich relationships:

Start a circle - this is a group of people who can inspire you with their vision, their strategic thinking, and their track record of executing great ideas.

Head-to-Heads - this is where two people get together and share new insights and new resources that they have gathered since their last meeting in order to keep a healthy competition and accountability with the other.

Establish a Core Team - this a group of people who help you shape your decisions and career choices. This can be a Board of Advisors or a group of friends to share your successes and ask guidance in your down times.

3. Energy - energy management is a key to our success as it keeps us out of ruts and keeps us moving towards our goals. Henry suggests two main practices for energy management:

Whole-Life Planning - here he talks about stepping back to examine our life as a whole and establishing a rhythm around energy management that takes into account all of our commitments.

Pruning - eliminating less effective activity. “Each choice you make to do something is a choice not to do something else.” Pruning away things that keep you away from the priorities of the season will help you to have energy for the important projects in your life.

How are you managing your focus, relationships, and energy? Are there any tools listed above that you can begin to implement in your life in order to enhance your creative growth?

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Monica Thakrar

Monica Thakrar has over 18 years experience in business focused mainly on strategy, change management, leadership development, training and coaching resulting in successful implementations of large scale transformation programs.